Description

Dont Mess with Cthulhu is a social deduction game with secret identities. Players are either Investigators trying to keep Cthulhu from waking and controlling the world, or Cultists that want to bring the world to a disturbing end.

The game takes place over four rounds. The Investigators must uncover all the Elder Signs to win; the Cultists win when Cthulhu is revealed or if the game ends before all the Elder Signs are discovered.

Before each round players receive a number of Investigation cards, which they look at but then shuffle and put in front of themselves so they know what cards they have, but they don't know which card is which. Each round has a number of actions equal to the number of players in the game. Players take actions to reveal Investigation cards, and gather all unrevealed cards are shuffled an redistributed evenly among the players.

Reveal Cthulhu, and the Cultists win instantly. Reveal all the Elder Signs, and the Investigators win. If you want to play multiple rounds (it's highly recommended), the losers in each game get Insanity tokens. Get three tokens, and the night is over with the winner(s) being those most sane.

Dont Mess with Cthulhu Deluxe is a new edition of this game with the Necronomicon and Objects of Power that allows for play with 4-8 players.

BLOG

Whether you’re in love with Lovecraft, and a cultist of The Old Ones, or you haven’t a clue who the giant squid faced scary looking guy is, it doesn’t matter! As long as you'll like a social deduction filler game that’s fun, quick to learn and quick to play then this deluxe version of Indie Boards & Cards' Don't Mess with Cthulhu

Components

In the small box you will find a light but helpful rulebook, 40 poker sized Investigation cards, six thick Character Tokens, an Active Player marker and 28 Insanity Tokens, plus two mini expansions or playing variants, that consist of nine more cards in total; Three for the Necronomicon variant and six for the Objects of Power.

Why not have a look at my unboxing video below to see all these components and checkout the ace comic art theme of the game.

Gameplay

Where as the box says 4-8 players, inside the rulebook you’ll find a variant for a three-player game, making Don’t Mess With Cthulhu (designed by Yusuke Sato)

So, how does it play? Everyone receives their secret identity dealt to them face-down, and regardless of player count there will always be one additional identity that’s returned to the box. This brings in that element of confusion that leaves people guessing how many Cultists are actually in play.

Once everyone has secretly looked at their identity the Investigation cards are dealt out, five to each player again face-down, and where as before, now all players secretly look at what cards they have in front of them. In turn each player declares (truthfully or not) what they have, and then shuffles these five cards and places them back in front of themselves.

Only the players themselves knows the truth of what they have, but now they don’t know it’s location. Over the next four rounds actions will take place equal to the number of players there are. For example, in a six-player game there will be six Actions.

To take an action the active player (with the Flashlight Marker) selects an Investigation Card that isn’t their own and places the marker on it. Before this happens everyone else can give their advice and input, deceptive or not, but the final decision is with the active player.

The chosen card is revealed and placed in the centre of the play area. If this card is Cthulhu the game ends and the Cultists win. If it isn’t, play continues with this card now revealed and out of play for the rest of the game. Whomever's card was just revealed now becomes the active player and takes up the mantle of the Flashlight Marker, to go on and decide, under the direction of other players, which card to investigate next.

This continues back and forth until either all actions are spent for this round, where then the remaining cards are collected in, shuffled and dealt out evenly again for the nest round, or until either all Elder Signs are revealed, bringing a win to the Investigators or a win to the Cultists on the finding of the Cthulhu card.

Final Thoughts on Don't Mess with Cthulhu

Don't Mess with Cthulhu is a fun packed game from start to finish, that can be played in most settings, and with most gamer types, from gateway to game lord or lady! It’s so easy to learn and you really don’t have to have a clue about Cthulhu to enjoy the deduction and deception of the gameplay.

It’s fun to try and work out who’s who from their actions, behaviours and things said, with plenty of player interaction through out. And with everyone being able to share their advice to the active player there is no real down time between turns.

The only irritation comes when your cards aren’t picked in that round’s investigation, and you don’t get to become the active player. Is this because you’re a Cultist or playing against one? That’s for you to find out and try to convince the others of, but don’t take too long because Cthulhu is close at hand!

This quick game is so much fun that after playing through you will want to play again… and again… and “go on, just one more time” again.

Although simple, and small this game has legs (and tentacles) for lots of replay-ability, especially when adding in one or both of the deluxe mini expansions; Necronomicon and Objects of Power.

I’ve seen this filler title become the main game to fill a night’s whole playtime on a number of occasions. Don’t let this fun filler game go undiscovered in your game nights!

You Might Like• The ease of learning. • The quickness of play. • The fun of bluffing. • The secret identity aspect.

You Might Not Like• The lying and/or bluffing. • The uncertainty of not knowing who everyone is. • The sporadic turn order.

Staff were very helpful and the order was swift and very well packed. I live in Ireland and I was able to track the delivery through every step. I will use them again and I have recommended to a friend already

Staff were very helpful and the order was swift and very well packed. I live in Ireland and I was able to track the delivery through every step. I will use them again and I have recommended to a friend already

2 hours ago

Anonymous

★★★★

Prompt delivery, clear indication of stock levels on website -- but dynamic pricing makes it difficult to trust this merchant completely. Also really stingy not to offer free postage when spending so much on a game!

Prompt delivery, clear indication of stock levels on website -- but dynamic pricing makes it difficult to trust this merchant completely. Also really stingy not to offer free postage when spending so much on a game!

11 hours ago

Isabelle

★★★★★

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very quick service and a great price for board games. One of the best online gaming shops around

15 hours ago

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Zatu seem to consistently have the cheapest games and after having bought a few games from them, also seem to have brilliant customer support, packing/shipping, website etc. Just generally great across the board from what I've experienced so far.

15 hours ago

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Zatu are my go-to supplier for board games. Good range, good prices, always delivered quickly and well packaged.

18 hours ago

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Delivery was prompt. The item arrived damaged but the returns procedure was simple and soon a had a replacement item delivered.

Delivery was prompt. The item arrived damaged but the returns procedure was simple and soon a had a replacement item delivered.

18 hours ago

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Superb prices. Really fast delivery. Recommend very highly

18 hours ago

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Fast service, and absolutely competetive prices. Even with the postage it's still a bargain compared to buying the games here in denmark.

18 hours ago

gilles

★★★★★

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I'm really happy about them !

A great way to buy international boardgame. I received quickly my game in France. When I opened my game box, there was missing a bag of pieces, and they helped me to received quickly from the editor the missing pieces. It was really easy and helpful from them.
I'm really happy about them !